Support Portal for Youth and K–12: Insights on a Pilot Project With Peel District School Board

Oct 3, 2026

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Evaluation of the Future Skills & Careers (FSC) platform for Black and racialized youth in Canada, examining how socio-economic, cultural, and educational disparities—amplified by race and gender biases—affect career decision-making. The platform provides mentorship, digital skills training, and career development tools, delivering tailored resources, detailed career information, and labour market trends. A pilot with Peel District School Board gathers student survey feedback to assess navigation ease, content relevance, and overall usefulness, informing recommendations for scale-up and impact.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages28

Reading Time1 h 11 min

AccessFree to download

Executive Summary

Background

Goals

Designs

Methods

Findings

Conclusions and Implications

References

Future Skills Centre Centre des Compétences futures Support Portal for Youth and K–12: Insights on a Pilot Project With Peel District School Board Partners Future Skills Centre Centre des Compétences futures The Diversity Institute conducts and coordinates multi-disciplinary, multi-stakeholder research to address the needs of diverse Canadians, the changing nature of skills and competencies, and the policies, processes and tools that advance economic inclusion and success. Our action-oriented, evidence-based approach is advancing knowledge of the complex barriers faced by underrepresented groups, leading practices to effect change, and producing concrete results. The Diversity Institute is a research lead for the Future Skills Centre. The Future Skills Centre (FSC) is a forward-thinking centre for research and collaboration dedicated to driving innovation in skills development so that everyone in Canada can be prepared for the future of work. We partner with policymakers, researchers, practitioners, employers and labour, and post-secondary institutions to solve pressing labour market challenges and ensure that everyone can benefit from relevant lifelong learning opportunities. We are founded by a consortium whose members are Toronto Metropolitan University, Blueprint, and The Conference Board of Canada, and are funded by the Government of Canada’s Future Skills Program. The Peel District School Board (PDSB) is a racially, culturally and linguistically diverse board that serves 155,000+ students and approximately 17,000 employees. In PDSB, 87% of students are racialized, representing 162 different ethnic backgrounds. Students in Peel have 121 different first languages. Student diversity also exists in terms of gender and gender expression, sexuality and in terms of ability and faith. The PDSB’s mission is to inspire success, confidence and hope in each student. We are committed to helping each child achieve to the best of their ability. PDSB’s collective, daily efforts make a positive difference in the lives of our students, their families and the world. Funder The Future Skills Centre – Centre des Compétences futures is funded by the Government of Canada’s Future Skills Program. The opinions and interpretations in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Government of Canada. Authors Wendy Cukier Founder and academic director Diversity Institute Professor, Entrepreneurship & Innovation Toronto Metropolitan University Contributors Joey Chong Program manager Diversity Institute Rongwei (Carter) Man Research assistant Diversity Institute Vivian Leung Research assistant Diversity Institute Laurene Williams Program manager Diversity Institute Guang Ying Mo Director, research Diversity Institute Katlynn Sverko Director, special projects Diversity Institute Publication Date: November 2024 Contents Executive Summary ii Background 1 Goals 5 Designs 6 Methods 9 Findings 10 Conclusions and Implications 15 References 17 Executive Summary Background This report evaluates the Future Skills & Careers (FSC) platform, designed to address systemic barriers that Black and racialized youth in Canada face when making career decisions. These barriers—rooted in socio-economic, cultural and educational disparities—are compounded by race and gender biases, limiting career opportunities. The FSC platform offers mentorship, digital skills training and career development tools to support students from underserved communities. By providing tailored resources, detailed career information and labour market trends, the platform empowers youth to explore emerging fields, improve career readiness and overcome challenges, ultimately helping them achieve long-term success. Goals The primary goal of the FSC platform is to create a comprehensive, accessible and dynamic resource for career exploration and understanding labour marke

FAQs

What problem does the FSC platform address for youth?

It addresses systemic barriers that Black and racialized youth face in Canada when making career decisions, driven by socio-economic, cultural, and educational disparities and compounded by race and gender biases.

What resources and tools does the FSC platform provide?

It offers mentorship, digital skills training, and career development tools, including tailored resources, detailed career information, and labour market trends to support career exploration and readiness.

How was the platform evaluated in the pilot?

A pilot project was conducted with two high school classrooms in partnership with the Peel District School Board. Students provided feedback via an online survey (May 16 to June 26, 2024), which was analyzed descriptively for navigation ease, content relevance, and usefulness.

Oct 3, 2026

Upload by Mabel